Big Idea: The victory of God and the vindication of Jesus are anchored in the reality of the resurrection. Yet the women, who symbolize faithful discipleship, struggle with inadequate understanding and failure. We as disciples can overcome our failures only by joining the disciples and the women in encountering the risen Lord in our “Galilee.”
Understanding the Text
In God’s sovereign plan, suffering also leads to victory, and persecution to vindication. The resurrection of Jesus concludes not just the passion events but the whole Gospel of Mark, and it promises for God’s people that all of our failures will be overturned in Jesus.
Structure
Mark centers on the women and structures his narrative in a series of collages moving in three successive scenes: (1) Verses 1–4 contrast the wome…